Random News: May 16, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s May 16, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. Super busy morning for me, so I’ll get through whatever I can in the time that I have, which is also the definition of life…

• Ukrainian air defenses thwarted an intense Russian air attack on Kyiv early this morning, shooting down all 18 missiles aimed at the capital with the help of Western-supplied weapons.
• Slava Ukraini!
• In a complaint filed in New York state court yesterday, attorneys for Noelle Dunphy allege that Rudy Giuliani offered her employment for a salary of $1 million a year in 2019. At the time, Giuliani was serving as an attorney for then-President Donald Trump.
• "Unfortunately, Giuliani's seemingly generous offers were a sham motivated by his secret desire to pursue a sexual relationship with Ms. Dunphy—in total disregard for the restraints that should have protected her as his employee and client. He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands—which came virtually anytime, anywhere—was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation."
• According to Monday's complaint, Giuliani "forced Ms. Dunphy to perform oral sex on him" throughout their relationship.
• Giuliani allegedly drank alcohol and "took Viagra constantly," the document states.
• Gross!
• Here’s the best part, though: the lawsuit claims that some of Giuliani's demands for sex were captured on recordings. Other allegations involved Giuliani conspiring with Trump to sell pardons for $2 million each. Jesus.
• Dunphy is seeking at least $10 million in damages.
• Moving on…
• There are primary elections today in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
• Like everything these days, aspects of these three elections could have national implications on topics like abortion and much more.
• The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will determine whether South Carolina racially gerrymandered one of its congressional districts.
• A three-judge district court panel in January ordered new maps be drawn after finding the state’s 1st Congressional District, as drawn by Republican state lawmakers, was specifically designed to dilute the power of Black voters.
• Fucking racist pricks.
• But now the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Republicans’ bid to reverse the lower decision, setting up a major redistricting case for the Supreme Court’s next annual term. The case is likely to be argued this fall.
• Sigh.
• A person with a baseball bat entered the district office of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) yesterday morning and attacked two members of his staff.
• "This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff. The individual is in police custody and both members of my team were transferred to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries." - Connolly
• The MAGA mentality of physically attacking our political leaders is the direct fault of the former president, who on many occasions encouraged acts of violence as a solution.
• Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern about security at their offices or at their homes, especially since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
• Moving on…
• How about some news about guns and Texas? There’s never a shortage of that.
• A 12-year-old boy in Keene, TX was being disorderly in a Sonic Drive-In parking lot on Saturday night. He got into a confrontation with an employee, Matthew Davis. So the boy pulled out an AR-15 and shot Davis multiple times, killing him.
• Police have charged the boy, a Fort Worth resident, with murder. Davis leaves behind a 10-year-old son.
• This is what Republicans want when they continue to make guns easier and easier for anyone to get.
• And now, The Weather: “All My Thoughts” by Meagre Martin
• Nearly a quarter of Americans say they used to follow a different religious tradition or denomination than the one they practice now. The jump in religion-switching comes as many Americans say they no longer believe in their initial religion's teachings — or, in many cases, disagree with a religion's stance against LGBTQ+ people.
• The nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute survey of people across the country found that a quarter of Americans (24%) say they've changed religious traditions or denominations over their lifetime or recently.
• That’s a 50% jump from 2021, when 16% said they had switched, the survey found. The survey found that the Catholic Church had lost the highest percentage of followers (39%) to the group without a religious affiliation. Non-evangelical Protestants (28%) lost the second-most members.
• Hmm.
• A driver in Springfield, CO who was pulled over for speeding tried to switch places with his dog to avoid arrest.
• The man said he was not behind the wheel and clearly showed signs of being drunk. He ran from the officer when asked about how much he had had to drink and was caught within about 20 yards.
• No word on the dog’s opinion about all this. 
• From the Sports Desk… the NBA Western Conference Finals start tonight with the 7th seed Los Angeles Lakers visiting the top-seed Denver Nuggets.
• LET’S GO LAKERS (CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP)!
• Today in history… 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France (1770). Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush (1832). The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers (1842). The United States Congress establishes the nickel (1866). The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote (1868). Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances (1888). In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place (1929). Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, CA (1960). Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia (1974). A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine (1988). Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom becomes the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress (1991). 
• May 16 is the birthday of physicist David Edward Hughes (1831), ichthyologist Edith Grace White (1890), actor Henry Fonda (1905), author Studs Terkel (1912), clarinetist/band leader Woody Herman (1913), pianist Liberace (1919), politician John Conyers (1929), drummer Billy Cobham (1944), actor Danny Trejo (1944), singer-songwriter Richard Page (1953), gymnast Olga Korbut (1955), actress Debra Winger (1955), bass player Krist Novoselic (1965), singer-songwriter Janet Jackson (1966), journalist, I guess, Tucker Carlson (1969), tennis player Gabriela Sabatini (1970), actress Tori Spelling (1973), and actress Megan Fox (1986).

Okay, I’m a busy dude in a busy world. Enjoy your day.